Man Made 2017

Frog Hollow Park, Darwin City

What makes a man? Ambition, pride, honour, competitiveness and a keen sense of adventure. Are these the attributes that shape a man? From schoolyards, backyards, streets, bars and barbeques - what messages come through to us and what challenges lie ahead?

What does a man make? A model plane, a loaf of bread, a house, a dance, a table, a quilted blanket, a bookshelf, a garden.

Man Made explores the male as an individual: his habits, idiosyncrasies, passions, talents and drives. It also seeks to understand males as a group: exploring energy, physicality, memory, knowledge, leadership, belonging, work and play.

Performed by a cast of male dancers from 16 to 70 years old, Man Made explores four states of manhood, the transition from boy to man, the forces that push and pull the sons of the world, the muscle strength factor, ageing in the skin of men.

Original scores by David McMicken, Darwin and Sydney based DJ masters, James Mangohig and Jack Prest, give the beat to choreographies by the Tracks artistic team. They are joined by D-City Rockers lead Aaron Lim and one of Australia’s most sought after dancers Josh Mu, returning to the Tracks fold, having built an extraordinary dance career as a performer with Chunky Move, Shaun Parker Company, Marrugeku and Dancenorth, to name a few.

Man Made is a full length work to be performed outdoors under the canopy of the Frog Hollow Park trees as a part of the 2017 Darwin Festival Program. August 11-13, 16-20

Scenario

Look What I Made Mum (Man Made Objects) - All Cast with Angus Robson and Kadek Hobman.

Something I Forgot - Anthony Burridge, Bernie Trinne, Darren Mccallum, Darryl Butler, David McMicken, David Taylor, Glenn Bernardin, John Sullivan and Mark Bunnett.
This work focusses on the aging male, starting at mid-life, through mature adulthood, and on to late adulthood. From a time of personal contemplation, or of wanting to give back, dad dancing and messages from our youth that survive into our aging, and then the rich wisdom that remains once memoires of our past have completed their job of shaping our future; attempting to avoid past mistakes, if only we could remember them. As questions of ‘forgettory’ arise the experience of memory changes. What is remembered and what is actually performed in the present moment through a thinking body that also forgets?
Choreography and Music: David McMicken. (Additional sound recordings: Hold your Hand Out You Naughty Boy (1913) written and composed by C. W. Murphy and David Worton and sung by popular Australian vaudeville performer Florrie Forde. Also some early sound recordings of Conan Doyle - 1930, Spoken English by Bernard Shaw 1927, and Mahatma Gandhi’si Spiritual Message to the world 1931.)

Becoming - Ethan Bowden, Haylen Duncan, Isaac Button, Kai Barrett-McGuin and Will Nery
Becoming deals with the transition from boy to man. What lessons have been learned, and how prepared are our young men for the life ahead? Cause and response, action and reaction, protection and projection. Who do we look up to? Who's with us along the journey? Where was I before and where and I going? Will I become a hero or a monster, or just myself?
Choreographed: Aaron Lim. Music: Jack Prest

Sons - Danial Ireland, Daniel Ferguson, Don Mackenzie Ofiaza, Drew Holloway, Harry Balaj and Max Higgins
Over time, those that we view as ‘sons’ have shaped themselves and been shaped through laying down many layers of memory, thought, experience, action and belief. This work peels back the outwardly-projected image of a group of young men to reveal the labyrinthine pathways of their hearts and minds, and explore the forces, both tangible and intangible, that push and pull against them. In a contemporary world, how does each son navigate the challenges, risks, opportunities, and conflicts that arise in his lifetime? Choreography: Kelly Beneforti and the participants. Music: James Mangohig

Solo - Josh Mu
Choreography: Josh Mu. Music: James Mangohig

Prime Time - Aaron Lim, Jordan Bretherton, Josh Mu And Will Nery
With male muscle strength supposedly peaking at 25, it is said that it is all downhill from there. Four professional dancers, ask what does it mean to reach your prime, how does it feel from inside the body, and how does this present to the outside world? Choreography: Josh Mu, Aaron Lim and dancers. Music: Jack Prest

Midnight Snack - All Cast
The sixteen year old comes to the fridge and announces he is hungry. The fifty year old stares into the fridge not knowing what he came for. In our own worlds away from the group who are we?

Patron: His Honour, The Honourable John Hardy OAM, Administrator of the Northern Territory

Photos:

Videos

Audience Responses

"Pitched beautifully.... There was tenderness and joy as well as strength and boldness.... It was powerful and honest without being confronting, witty and amusing without being silly, and generous and sweet without being patronising. I thoroughly enjoyed it!" Jane Hayley - Chief Executive Officer, Ten Days on the Island.

"Making dance that speaks directly to the here and now for the people of Darwin isn’t just an artistic goal for Tracks, but also one to ensure it can build and maintain essential community ties. That source of inspiration is particularly clear in Track’s latest work, Man Made..." Ben Neutze - Daily Review. Read full article

Cast Responses

“An appreciation for performers in how they bring themselves to the stage. Not the craft but the authenticity of the individual and how that can be encouraged to shine through in shows.”

“I expected a diverse cast and presumed there would be challenges. What surprised me was how amazing they all were as individuals. Rising to any challenge, open minded and full of respect for the variety of different people they were surrounded by. I'm sure this attitude is an extension of what Tracks brings to these projects.”

“I learned a lot about myself and how I can break the boundaries of my own dance style to work in a group. I also learned that dance doesn't stop at any age it is a thing that can stay with you for life.”

“It has helped me to grow by teaming me with people I have never met before, created a safe space for me to interact with other male dancers and become more confident.”

“This project has taught me a lot. Josh Mu acted as a great mentor and friend. He not only taught me many different approaches to choreographer. He also taught me a wide variety of physical skills, professional practices, personal and professional developmental approaches and much more it feels like.”

“Man Made was celebration of what it means to be a man. And how being a man is not bound by definition but is an amalgam of many walks of life.”

“My first expectations of being involved in Man Made, were that it was going to be a physically and mentally challenging development. And in the end, yes it was very challenging, but in a good way in which I developed skills as a dancer, performer and artist.”

“Did not realize how much I missed hanging out with a bunch of guys for a purpose. Took me back to a time when I played sport in that team environment . It was all about the team being there for one another to win the final and in a personal way. It also took me back to a time on the factory floor or working on building sites. You are there for the work. But there is something special about pulling up a paint tin and sitting down for smoke. Sharing stories and breaking bread together. An office morning tea is miles away from those days . I now realize this from doing Man Made.”

“It really is a personal journey. Tracks provides a safe place for the journey and to be vulnerable.”

“I had no previous dance skills but I come away with many skills and the confidence to perform them.”